Utilities
Flexibility for Fulbright Indigenous Scholarship
Jane Kentmann
1st June 2012
This year for the first time, the Fulbright Indigenous Scholarship will be open to more categories and will offer greater flexibility in terms of programs and the length of time spent in the United States (U.S.).
Dr Holt, Executive Director of the Australian-American Fulbright Commission said, “By broadening the Indigenous application opportunities across all categories, it offers flexibility for Indigenous Scholars to experience life in the U.S. while completing their program of choice to either study, research or pursue professional development.”
In 2013, the Fulbright Indigenous Scholarship will be open to applicants not only to undertake postgraduate or postdoctoral research, as it has been in the past, but it will also be open to Indigenous academics and professionals.
The expanded categories will enable scholars to more easily customise academic programs according to their individual needs. For example, Indigenous professionals from all areas can apply to undertake three to four months of research and may include a short course. Indigenous academics will be able to spend three to six months on research or guest lecturing.
The Fulbright Program is the largest and one of the most prestigious educational scholarship programs in the world. It operates between the U.S. and over 155 countries worldwide. The program was established in the U.S. in 1946, in the aftermath of World War II, under legislation introduced by Senator J William Fulbright of Arkansas, and in Australia through a bi-national treaty between the Australian and U.S. Governments in 1949.
The Fulbright Indigenous Scholarship was originally established in cooperation with the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC) in 1993, and is now supported by the Department of Innovation, Industry, Science, Research and Tertiary Education (DIISTRE).
Valued at up to AU$40,000, the Indigenous Scholarship supports three to 12 months study or research in the U.S. depending on the scholarship category and the approved scholarship duration. The scholarship can be started anytime between 1 July 2013 and 30 June 2014.
There is no age limit for applicants and scholarships are available in all fields of study. Selection of successful applicants is based on academic and professional excellence, relevance of proposed program and potential outcomes.
Applications open 1 June 2012 and close 20 August 2012
For more information > Fulbright Indigenous Scholarship